Once Upon A Love
by Tenshi Sasher
Summary: From Chichi's Point of View: When three year old Goten asks Chichi why he doesn't have a father, she alludes the truth with a bedtime story.


**_Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z or any publication rights to either the manga or anime. BUT I DO, HOWEVER, OWN AN IF LABS DRAGONBALL MASTER ROSHI! Whereas Mira and Bear own a Fully Articulated IF Labs Battle Damaged Super Saiyan Prince Vegeta action figure. And, *sigh* Bear actually MARRIED hers in Wal*Mart before she bought it! My brother officiated the services and Grumpy, the life sized Care Bear was their witness. Heck, I was in the store at the time, she could've asked ME to be there! How sad. As for Mira, she just sleeps with hers *GASP* MIRA! YOU BAD GIRL!_**

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**_A/N: Anyhow, this fiction just came to me on a spontaneous whim, but is dedicated to my sister, Bear, who turned sixteen yesterday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAR! ACK! THE BIRTHDAY BEAR! IT'S YOU!!!! AH! *pulls out machine gun* Eh, it's a bit of a private joke..._**

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**_Also, thanks to Chrystaline for inspiring me to write this one, though I'm not sure how it worked, I was just reading 'Koyarashi' last night (GREAT STORY! GO READ!) And I just got inspired! *Hugs for her* LOVE YOU!_**

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**_*Thanks to Bear for the title ^_^_**

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**__****_Once Upon A Love_****__**

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**__"Hey Mommy, can I talk to you?" **

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**_I note the subtle depth behind my baby's words. Prayers have been said and stories have been finished, so I didn't expect him to call me back, as he usually doesn't. Gohan had been bad about it when he was that age, but Goten has never been so eager for me to stay with him during the night._**

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**_I turn around to see him, and my breath catches in my throat so I nearly choke. It's odd, the very same thing happened to me when the doctor handed him to me in the delivery room and I saw him for the very first time, and to this day, three years since then, I still find myself almost losing my breath when I look at him and expect to see my child._**

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**_Not my husband._**

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**"Of course you can, honey. You can talk to me anytime you like."**

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**_I smile and seat myself on the edge of his bed. As I sit, I notice the old creak to the mattress' springs. This bed is so old, older than Gohan even, and he's only two months shy of fifteen. Dear Lord, how is my Gohan fifteen? It seemed yesterday I was tucking him in this very bed... But I guess I'm living in the past._**

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**_But if I didn't live in the past I couldn't hope for the future_.**

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**"'Kay!"**

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**_He chirps just like Gohan did when he was that age. I swear I never could understand how a boy could hit a falsetto note like he did, but I guess it was in either my genes or Goku's, because Goten has the same ability. Their sudden and staccato outbursts seem like a huge whistle being blown in the deepest part of your ear when they squeal._**

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**_Haha, but Gohan doesn't posses that trait any longer. About the time that he returned from training with Piccolo that pitch had dissolved. Oh yes, he was still piercing and loud from time to time, but it was very seldom he'd break out like that. Although when his voice started changing earlier this year, he'd occasionally break in mid-sentence, and that would cause me to remember him as a small child. My eyes tear up from time to time when I think about him being so young. I can't believe that my life has turned out the way that it has, there are so many twists and turns along this road they call life, but I don't regret any of the turns I've made or any of the signs I missed on my way_.**

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**_Just some of the things I've left along the journey_.**

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**"What's on your mind, Tiger?"**

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**_Years ago, I would've been disgusted with myself for calling my son 'Tiger'. I was so uptight for so long, nothing less than the name sufficed unless it was some sugar-sweet name like 'booger bear' or 'fluffy wumples', words that come back to haunt boys in their teenage years if one of their friends should find that a name of that caliber was ever uttered towards their very distinguished person. Poor Gohan, I wonder how he ever stood up with me calling him things like that. And he was hanging around thirty-year old warriors, for Enma's sake! _**

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**_So yeah, I never said words like 'Tiger' or 'Champ' to Gohan. That was always Goku's department. It was as if his 'Cool Dad Words' could compensate for my 'Dorky Mom Endearments'. And I was okay with that, in fact, I loved hearing Goku pet name Gohan. It warmed a part of me that seemed to have been cold before, though I'm not even sure I know how that is. _**

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**_I guess somewhere along the way I picked up on the words themselves, because I find myself more often than not using the 'Cool Dad Words' instead of the horrific 'Dorky Mom Endearments'. I guess in a way Goten needs to hear both._**

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**"Mommy? Mommy are you lis'nin to me?"**

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**_I shake my head. My, how my mind wanders. I wonder sometimes if I'm older than thirty-two._**

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**"I am, Goten, don't worry. Now what was it that you were saying?"**

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**"Um, okay...." **

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**_He fidgets in his bed and plays with the hem of his blanket. I always tell him not to pull on the embroidery or it will unravel. But if he ever listened to me I guess I'd probably die from the shock of having an obedient person in the house. Haha, that's being cruel, I know, Goten actually listens very well, but toddlers will be toddlers, I remember once when Gohan was little...._**

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**"Why don't I have a Daddy?"**

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**_My mind stops. Did he just say what I think he said?_**

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**"Goten!" I scolded him, "You do have a Daddy! You know that, why ask such a thing!"**

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**_Even as my words rise in volume, his confidence dwindles at the same rate, as if there are weights being piled on a scale, lifting one side and weighing the other._**

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**"I... Um.... I'm...."**

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**_I catch the hesitation in his voice before I see the gleam in his eye. I shouldn't have reprimanded him like that, especially after I had told him he could talk to me about anything!_**

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**"Goten, I'm sorry, Mommy just got a little bit carried away."**

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**_The look on his face only lightens slightly. I let out a drawn out sigh and pull myself across his bed so that I'm half-sitting, half-lying against his headboard_. **

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**"Come here, I promise not to get mad anymore if you'll just talk, okay?"**

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**_He slowly nods his head and curls up against my stomach. He's so adorable, I don't know what I ever did to have a child so angelic_.**

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**_Besides marrying his father, that is._**

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**__"I'm sorry if I made'd you mad, Mommy, I won't do it no more." He drawls quietly. His voice breaks my heart, he's so sincere. I've never been able to be as honestly sincere as he is. It's amazing the things children inherit from people they never even meet.**

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**"No Goten, I'm sorry for flying off the handle like that, I won't do it again. But why did you ask me why you didn't have a father? You know you do, so why ask?"**

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**Goten chews on his bottom lip while staring outside the window. It's a bad habit, that lip-chewing, he's going to bite a big hole in his flesh one day if he keeps that up.**

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**"Well, I was playin' 'wif Trunks today, and aft'ah we finished wrestlin' he winn'ed. I told him he only winn'ed 'cause he was bigger than me and older by a whole year! But he said it was 'cause my mommy taught me how to fight and his daddy taught him."**

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**"So? What does that have to do with anything?"**

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**Goten looks oddly at me, as if I've just asked a very stupid question.**

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**"'Cause ever'one knows Daddy's is stronger than Mommy's!"**

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**_I have to allow a grin on that one. Funny how stereotypical things appear to a child. But, then again, perhaps he's right. In my day, and even now, I could have beat any man that dared cross my path, and made it so he'd never think the same way of a woman again. But, I somehow managed, out of every man on this planet, to pick the only one that was stronger than I was. Maybe Daddy's are supposed to be stronger_.**

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**_His Daddy was._**

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**__He sighs at my blatant ignorance and continues.**

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**"But I told Trunks that my Mommy was real strong. He said you was, but that if I had a Daddy, he'd be more strong than you was and that he'd teach me to be as good as Trunks."**

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**Something about his words hits a chord with me, a painful chord.**

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**_"But that if I had a Daddy...."_**

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**_You have a Daddy, and he's the best in the universe! He was strong and courageous, no one ever lived that was as wonderful as he was! If only you knew, son, if only you knew that your father was the greatest person to ever live and walk on any planet in any quadrant in any universe, then you wouldn't have to ask such questions! If only he was here now, you'd never doubt that you were the luckiest boy in the world to honestly and truthfully have the 'Best Dad in the World', because it would be true!_**

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**_Oh Goku, why did you leave me? It never gets any easier, no matter how many years pass between us...._**

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**__"Mommy? Mommy please don't cry! I'm sorry! I don't mean to make you sad! I won't do it no more, just don't cry, please!"**

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**_I feel his small arms wrap around my neck. Am I crying? I must be, he is now, too. I wish I could stop, but it's been so long since I allowed myself this emotion, I think if I stop now, I'll explode. I wasn't even aware of these bottled-up feelings_.**

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**_Just as I wasn't aware to how much he meant to me._**

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**__"Mommy...." He sputters_. _**

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**_I can't believe I'm making him cry, too_!**

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**"Goten, it's okay, I'm all right...."**

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**"No your NOT! Your cryin' and I made you do it!" **

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**I _wipe my face, but it doesn't stop the water from building in my eyes. I wrap my arms around my trembling little boy who at this moment feels that my sadness is on his part_.**

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**"Goten, you didn't make me cry, I did it on my own. I do it because...."**

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**_Why can't I finish? Why is it so hard after all this time to talk about my feelings for Goku? Heaven knows I talk about him so much every day and tell enough stories about him and watch enough home movies and place enough pictures around me so that anyone could tell I love him more than life! So why can't I say it? I'm still so selfish after all of these years_.**

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**_No wonder he left me._**

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**"Goten, I cry because I miss your Daddy so much. I didn't want him to leave, but he had to. He had to go so that I could be here today. If he hadn't have gone away, then you wouldn't be here, either."**

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**_He looks confused, and I don't blame him. Maybe my conversational skills aren't what they used to be. In fact, I'm not sure they ever were._**

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**"Why'd he go away? You always tell 'bout him and things ya'll did when you was 'lil kids and how ya'll got married and stuff.... But you never told why he went away."**

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**_I know I must have teared or trembled at his request, because he starts biting his lip again. I swear one day he's going to nip it clear off. _**

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**_How can I tell him that his father died to save everyone, and no one even cared? How can I try and distill principles of right and wrong in my toddler when the world is so screwed up that they themselves don't even know? A man's life was snuffed out on their account, and no one gives a care. How inadequate, A man's life. More like the life of the man who brought peace to the world, made our lives worth living, made a safe home for our children and a perfect existence for everyone. More like the man that kissed away my tears, the man that held me when I was cold, the man that touched me in the night. More like the man that I loved, the man that loved me in return._**

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**_So how can I explain that? I can't. But I have to._**

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**"Honey, let me tell you a story, okay?"**

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**_Goten's expression visibly changes, but having the attention span that a three year old is endowed with, it's not exactly the visage of disappointment._**

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**"'Kay." He says, though it's more of a inquiry than a statement of enthusiasm.**

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**"Once upon a time there was a princess. She lived all alone with her riches and her ways, with her servants and her people. She had a father whom she very much adored, and who returned the same feeling towards her. But with all of her beautiful dresses and all of her intricate mannerisms, all of her company and all of her friends, she never really understood love."**

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**"Why not? She loved her Daddy, right?"**

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**I smile. "Yes, she loved her Daddy, but it was somewhat.... Different than what she thought love should feel like. Her life was very unfulfilled."**

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**_Goten's expression dropped. He does so get into these fairytales. _**

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**__"Poor 'lil princess." He comments. __**

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**_My baby is so sweet, he really is sincere._**

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**"Yes, that she was. But one day, her prince came along, riding on cloud. He wasn't what she had expected of a prince before, because he was scruffy, stocky and a bit on the wild side. But his heart was as clear as the sea after rain."**

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**"Is that real clear?"**

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**"More clear than anything."**

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**"Oh." **

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**"The princess though to herself, 'This is love', but though she felt it, it didn't seem right inside.**

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**"Time came, and her prince had to leave, but the princess promised to wait for him, as long as it took."**

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**"Aw! Why did her prince leave her?" He asks, his lip protruding slightly.**

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**"Because the prince still had lots of things to do. There were lots of people everywhere that needed help, and the prince was the only one who could help them. And in helping them, he grew. The princess couldn't have married the prince as he was, because he wasn't grown up inside yet, and neither was she."**

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**His eyes sheet in understanding, and he motions for me to continue.**

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**"Time wore on, seasons came and went, and the princess grew up. The time came for her to be married to the prince. But when that time came, she was shocked to find out that the prince had never really grown up, he was still the same person inside. But, somehow, it didn't matter, because she had fallen in love with the person he was then. So they were married. They moved away from the kingdom and lived in a little place of their own. They were very happy together. **

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**"The princess thought to herself, 'This is love', but though she felt it more than before, it didn't seem right inside."**

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**"Is she ever 'gonna learn what love is, Mommy?"**

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**"Just listen and maybe you'll find out."**

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**"'Kay." _Haha, he's so agreeable. Just like his father was._**

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**"Seasons changed again, winter brought long nights, and summer gray rain. And the prince and the princess had a child of their own. The princess had never been so happy. **

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**"The princess thought to herself, 'This is love', but though she felt it more than ever before, it didn't seem right inside.**

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**"So life went on, and many things came. With every hard time that had to come, the princess had to be strong to overcome it. There were many hard times, and the prince had to leave the princess for a long time because he was called away to defend his family and country. As her son grew, he was also recruited. The princess became angry with the fact that the two most important people in her life were always off risking their lives to defend people who didn't even care.**

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**"But when they would come back home, the princess would know in those fleeting peaceful moments, what it was like to be truly happy as she never was before.**

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**"The princess thought to herself, 'This is love', but though she felt it much more than ever before, it didn't seem right inside."**

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**_I see him raise his eyebrows. I try to smile and continue, but my heart feels heavy when telling the rest of the story_.**

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**"One day, the prince became very, very sick and nearly died."**

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**"He did?" Goten asks, new interest evident in his black eyes.**

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**"Almost." I whisper, too low for my own good.**

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**"Anyhow, the prince overcame it, but knew in only ten days that he would have to go back to the war. The prince had been fighting for so long that he was by far the best warrior of them all. But they had a dangerous opponent, someone that not even the prince stood a chance of beating."**

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**"What did he do?" Goten asks again, simultaneously clamping his teeth over his lip again.**

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**"He stayed at home for those ten days and made up for all the time he was away at war before. It was a wonderful time, but the princess was worried about the war to come. She knew that the chances were that he might not come back alive. And if he failed, then the enemy would come and kill everyone left. So the fate of the country was on his shoulders."**

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**"Wow."**

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**_I know, I felt the same way._**

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**__"In those ten days, he showed the princess in every way how much he loved her. And the night before he left for the battle, he gave her something that no one else could ever give her. She didn't know he had left it with her until much later. If she had, she would have tried to stop him from leaving because she would have known that he didn't plan on coming back."**

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**Goten almost questions me, except that my voice breaks, so he shuts his mouth.**

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**"The princess thought to herself, 'This is love', but though she felt it much more than ever before, it didn't seem right inside.... But it almost did."**

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**"What happened?" He finally asks, even as I feel my face begin to wet.**

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**"The prince went to battle the next morning, Goten. He went and he fought bravely, none of his fellow soldiers had ever seen him fight so well or so intensely. For a while, it seemed as if he was going to win, but then something horrible happened."**

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**"What?" He implores me, nearly out of breath. I have to catch my own.**

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**"The enemy was weakened, but instead of losing like an honorable person, he pulled out a technique that would kill everyone in the country. But in doing so, the enemy would die, as well."**

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**"Oh no!" He seems almost frantic. He never gets into stories this much. I wish I didn't have to.**

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**"But the prince saw that everyone would die. The people that had treated him so badly over the years, and the people that had loved him so, as well, would all be killed. So he used the last bit of his strength to kill the enemy. But in doing so, the prince died himself. Everyone was saved.... But no one really cared."**

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**"That's awful! Why'd you tell me this story, it's so sad!" He says, sincere anguish in his eyes.**

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**"It's not through yet."**

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**He straightens up and listens intently, though he's still a bit disheveled.**

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**"When the princess found out about it, she cried for a very, very long time. It hurt her badly to know that her prince had gone away, and wasn't coming back this time.**

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**"But she began to think, and something happened inside of her. All of the years when she had loved, but never understood it, she understood it now. She had loved when she had been loved, and never when it wasn't in return. It didn't make her love any less true, but she had never been able to comprehend it. Then she realized.**

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**"When her prince died, he died for not only her, their son and his friends, but for the ones that didn't know his name, for the ones that had treated him badly, for the ones that didn't care that he had died. She realized then, that love isn't always for those who love the most. It isn't for the ones who grieve over the loss, it isn't always for the ones who miss it the most. Sometimes, love is for the ones who never know it. The ones who never care. Some find out along the way and accept it, and some walk on in blindness and never understand it.**

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**"But love is unconditional. That means that no matter what a person does, that there's someone who'll love them no matter what they do. The princess was angry with the world for not caring that the one she loved the most died for them and they didn't even know it, but only for a little while. **

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**If she had stayed mad, then the love that the prince had shown for everyone would have been for nothing, since he had showed the same love to the princess. The people never returned the love that he had shown, and so they didn't love the prince. But she knew that if she didn't send the same love to everyone as he did, then she wasn't respecting the prince's sacrifice, and in turn, not loving him as much as she thought she had. And she loved him, with all of her heart.**

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**"When the prince died, she felt empty inside, as if half of her were gone. But she realized that she could either let part of herself die with him, or let part of him live through her. And she knew which the prince would have wanted. So she chose to go on with her life, to smile again and watch their child grow, but to never forget the one that had given her everything she had."**

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**"The prince?" He asks, and I have to restrain the urge to roll my eyes.**

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**"Yes, Goten, the prince."**

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**"'Kay, keep goin'."**

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**"Well, after the prince had died, she realized that all the things that she had felt before were love. Their time together, their child, their life, everything. Even in the times when she was mad at him for being gone so long, or during the hard times when things seemed bad. **

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**"But then, months later, after the prince had died, she discovered the gift that he had left for her. Her heart had been hurting so very, very badly, and when she found what he had left for her, things seemed easier. But she still cries from time to time because of it."**

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**Goten looks at me with calm eyes. I wonder if he understands.**

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**"Why does she cry?" He asks softly.**

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**"Because," I start, but my voice breaks. He lays his small hand on top of mine.**

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**"'Cause it reminds her of the prince, right Mommy?"**

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**_I'm amazed at how well he understands. If he knows that it applies to him or not, I don't know, but I won't ask._**

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**"That's right." I whisper, unable to do vocalize anymore than that, yet I continue.**

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**"But when she found what the prince had left for her, she saw all of the things about him that she loved inside of it. So, though she misses him and still cries when she thinks about him, in a way, he's still there, living through not only the princess and their son, but also from the gift that he left her. And she loves the prince so much more for leaving it, because if he hadn't, she wouldn't have been sure that he really cared about her or not."**

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**"Why not, Mommy? The prince loved the princess a whole lot, didn't she even know?" **

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**I sigh at my own blindness. **

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**"I know the prince loved her, baby, but sometimes, no matter what a person does, it's very hard to see what they feel about you. She had been so angry with him for being away that sometimes she imagined he didn't stay because he didn't love her."**

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**"Nuh-uh, he loved her even more 'cause of it. 'Cause he left so that he could make sure that the princess was safe. 'An he always comed back home ag'in."**

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**_I blink. How is it that a three year old can evaluate such a complicated relationship that took me over a decade to understand? _**

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**__I lay my hand across his spiky, black hair_. _**

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**_Sometimes, I wish Goku could come back, just for a second, to see that I haven't moved on from him. All he'd have to do is take one look at Goten. There's more evidence in our boy's wild hair than in anything I could ever tell him_.**

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**"Your right, Goten. Your smarter than the princess was for a very long time."**

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**He smiles, proud of himself. **

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**_He may not have the brains that Gohan had, but he has as much wisdom as Kami-Sama._**

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**"So when the princess looks back over her life, she's happy. Happy that she had the opportunity to love someone so deeply, and have the one that she loved return that same feeling with just as much power as she had given it out. She's happy that they had a son, whom she loves just as much. But even through all of this, she never _really understood _love....**

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**"Until she found the gift the prince had left. When she did....**

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**"The princess thought to herself, 'This is love',**

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**"And it was."**

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**"Is that the end of the story, Mommy?" He asks, his eyes starting to sag from sleepiness.**

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**"Actually, it's just the beginning."**

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**_I know I've confused him, but as I glance, he doesn't look confused at all._ **

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**I kiss him softly on the head and begrudgingly get up and head towards my room.**

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**"Goodnight, sweetie." I whisper as I walk towards the door.**

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**"Hey Mommy?" He asks, "Did ever'thin' happen just like that?" **

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**I smile, and it's sincere. _I guess he's growing on me._**

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**"Yes, it did."**

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**He smiles insanely huge, with a story that is that sad by fairytale standards,I wonder why he looks so happy.**

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**"What are you smiling about?" I ask, as I walk out towards the hallway.**

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**"'Just that I never knew I was a prince."**

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**_A/N: this was my first ever attempt at a present tense Point of View, so if you would, let me know how I did! I hope that you liked it, as I'm still having mixed feelings. So leave me a review *Goten kisses for all* YAH!_**

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